Why Ignite Charlotte?
It was February 15th when I emailed ignite@oreilly.com to inquire about a contact for Ignite Charlotte. On April 13th Sam Fagan and I set the wheels in motion to launch Ignite here in the Queen City.
We first sought out key community leaders to literally get their blessing and one question came up more than once: Why Ignite in Charlotte? Our response was obvious at first – why not? Reflecting back on that response, I realize that “why not?” was indeed the right answer. Think about it; this community is filled with talent from every corner of the nation and there are many ways in which the technology, arts and communications professionals can come together. Pecha Kucha for instance, which will hold their sixth event on July 16th, received the distinction of “Best Creative Gathering.” Then there’s TEDxCharlotte, set to host their first event on September 24th. Ignite Charlotte is poised as a new creative gathering event in the Queen City that can add support to the growth of city-wide collaborative efforts, ultimately leading to a stronger economic and collective consciousness.
Ignite is about ideas. Ideas can change the world. In our case, it only takes five minutes so join us on August 4th at the Neighborhood Theatre as we Ignite Charlotte.
– Bridget B. Sullivan @sullybridgetb